II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 917 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to reform the management 

of energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to reform 

the management of energy and mineral resources on 

the Outer Continental Shelf, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf Reform Act of 2011’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. National policy for the outer Continental Shelf. 


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Sec. 5. Structural reform of outer Continental Shelf program management. 

Sec. 6. Safety, environmental, and financial reform of the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act. 

Sec. 7. Study on the effect of the moratoria on new deepwater drilling in the 

Gulf of Mexico on employment and small businesses. 

Sec. 8. Reform of other law. 

Sec. 9. Safer oil and gas production. 

Sec. 10. National Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention. 

Sec. 11. Classification of offshore systems. 

Sec. 12. Savings provisions. 

Sec. 13. Budgetary effects. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to rationalize and reform the responsibilities 

4 of the Secretary of the Interior with respect to the 

5 management of the outer Continental Shelf in order 

6 to improve the management, oversight, account7 ability, safety, and environmental protection of all 

8 the resources on the outer Continental Shelf; 

9 (2) to provide independent development and en10 forcement of safety and environmental laws (includ11 ing regulations) governing— 

12 (A) energy development and mineral ex13 traction activities on the outer Continental 

14 Shelf; and 

15 (B) related offshore activities; and 

16 (3) to ensure a fair return to the taxpayer 

17 from, and independent management of, royalty and 

18 revenue collection and disbursement activities from 

19 mineral and energy resources. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

4 means the Department of the Interior. 

5 (2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

6 ‘‘outer Continental Shelf’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

8 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331). 

9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 

12 SHELF. 

13 Section 3 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1332) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) the outer Continental Shelf is a vital na18 tional resource reserve held by the Federal Govern19 ment for the public, which should be managed in a 

20 manner that— 

21 ‘‘(A) recognizes the need of the United 

22 States for domestic sources of energy, food, 

23 minerals, and other resources; 

24 ‘‘(B) minimizes the potential impacts of 

25 development of those resources on the marine 


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1 and coastal environment and on human health 

2 and safety; and 

3 ‘‘(C) acknowledges the long-term economic 

4 value to the United States of the balanced and 

5 orderly management of those resources that 

6 safeguards the environment and respects the 

7 multiple values and uses of the outer Conti8 nental Shelf;’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking the period 

10 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

11 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

12 inserting a semicolon; 

13 (4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para14 graph (7); 

15 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(6) exploration, development, and production 

18 of energy and minerals on the outer Continental 

19 Shelf should be allowed only when those activities 

20 can be accomplished in a manner that provides rea21 sonable assurance of adequate protection against 

22 harm to life, health, the environment, property, or 

23 other users of the waters, seabed, or subsoil; and’’; 

24 and 

25 (6) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘should be’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘shall be’’; and 

3 (B) by adding ‘‘best available’’ after 

4 ‘‘using’’. 

5 SEC. 5. STRUCTURAL REFORM OF OUTER CONTINENTAL 

6 SHELF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Outer Continental Shelf 

8 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 to the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 32. STRUCTURAL REFORM OF OUTER CONTINENTAL 

11 SHELF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. 

12 ‘‘(a) LEASING, PERMITTING, AND REGULATION BU13 REAUS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAUS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the discre16 tion granted by Reorganization Plan Number 3 

17 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1262; 43 U.S.C. 1451 note), 

18 the Secretary shall establish in the Department 

19 of the Interior not more than 2 bureaus to 

20 carry out the leasing, permitting, and safety 

21 and environmental regulatory functions vested 

22 in the Secretary by this Act and the Federal Oil 

23 and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

24 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) related to the outer Conti25 nental Shelf. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—In estab2 lishing the bureaus under subparagraph (A), 

3 the Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum ex4 tent practicable, that any potential organiza5 tional conflicts of interest related to leasing, 

6 revenue creation, environmental protection, and 

7 safety are eliminated. 

8 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—Each bureau shall be headed 

9 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi10 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen11 ate. 

12 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—Each Director shall be 

13 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 

14 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

15 United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(4) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each Director shall be 

17 a person who, by reason of professional background 

18 and demonstrated ability and experience, is specially 

19 qualified to carry out the duties of the office. 

20 ‘‘(b) ROYALTY AND REVENUE OFFICE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Subject to 

22 the discretion granted by Reorganization Plan Num23 ber 3 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1262; 43 U.S.C. 1451 note), 

24 the Secretary shall establish in the Department of 

25 the Interior an office to carry out the royalty and 


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1 revenue management functions vested in the Sec2 retary by this Act and the Federal Oil and Gas Roy3 alty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et 

4 seq.). 

5 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The office established under 

6 paragraph (1) shall be headed by a Director, who 

7 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 

8 advice and consent of the Senate. 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

10 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 

11 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

12 United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(4) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be a 

14 person who, by reason of professional background 

15 and demonstrated ability and experience, is specially 

16 qualified to carry out the duties of the office. 

17 ‘‘(c) OCS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY

18 BOARD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish, under the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

21 (5 U.S.C. App.), an Outer Continental Shelf Safety 

22 and Environmental Advisory Board (referred to in 

23 this subsection as the ‘Board’), to provide the Sec24 retary and the Directors of the bureaus established 

25 under this section with independent peer-reviewed 


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1 scientific and technical advice on safe and environ2 mentally compliant energy and mineral resource ex3 ploration, development, and production activities. 

4 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

5 ‘‘(A) SIZE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall 

7 consist of not more than 12 members, cho8 sen to reflect a range of expertise in sci9 entific, engineering, management, and 

10 other disciplines related to safe and envi11 ronmentally compliant energy and mineral 

12 resource exploration, development, and 

13 production activities. 

14 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall consult with the National Academy of 

16 Sciences and the National Academy of En17 gineering to identify potential candidates 

18 for membership on the Board. 

19 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The Secretary shall appoint 

20 Board members to staggered terms of not more 

21 than 4 years, and shall not appoint a member 

22 for more than 2 consecutive terms. 

23 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall appoint 

24 the Chair for the Board. 

25 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Board shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) meet not less than 3 times per year; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) at least once per year, shall host a 

4 public forum to review and assess the overall 

5 safety and environmental performance of outer 

6 Continental Shelf energy and mineral resource 

7 activities. 

8 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—Reports of the Board shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) be submitted to Congress; and 

10 ‘‘(B) made available to the public in an 

11 electronically accessible form. 

12 ‘‘(5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the 

13 Board, other than full-time employees of the Federal 

14 Government, while attending a meeting of the Board 

15 or while otherwise serving at the request of the Sec16 retary or the Director while serving away from their 

17 homes or regular places of business, may be allowed 

18 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist19 ence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 

20 United States Code, for individuals in the Federal 

21 Government serving without pay. 

22 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL PERSONNEL AUTHORITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY FOR CRITICAL

24 PERSONNEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec2 tions 3104, 3304, and 3309 through 3318 of 

3 title 5, United States Code, the Secretary may, 

4 upon a determination that there is a severe 

5 shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need 

6 for particular positions, recruit and directly ap7 point highly qualified accountants, scientists, 

8 engineers, or critical technical personnel into 

9 the competitive service, as officers or employees 

10 of any of the organizational units established 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In exercising the 

13 authority granted under subparagraph (A), the 

14 Secretary shall ensure that any action taken by 

15 the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) is consistent with the merit prin17 ciples of chapter 23 of title 5, United 

18 States Code; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) complies with the public notice 

20 requirements of section 3327 of title 5, 

21 United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec24 tion 5377 of title 5, United States Code, and 

25 without regard to the provisions of that title 


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1 governing appointments in the competitive serv2 ice or the Senior Executive Service and chap3 ters 51 and 53 of that title (relating to classi4 fication and pay rates), the Secretary may es5 tablish, fix the compensation of, and appoint in6 dividuals to critical positions needed to carry 

7 out the functions of any of the organizational 

8 units established under this section, if the Sec9 retary certifies that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the positions— 

11 ‘‘(I) require expertise of an ex12 tremely high level in a scientific or 

13 technical field; and 

14 ‘‘(II) any of the organizational 

15 units established in this section would 

16 not successfully accomplish an impor17 tant mission without such an indi18 vidual; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) exercise of the authority is nec20 essary to recruit an individual exceptionally 

21 well qualified for the position. 

22 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—The authority grant23 ed under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to 

24 the following conditions: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The number of critical positions 

2 authorized by subparagraph (A) may not 

3 exceed 40 at any 1 time in either of the 

4 bureaus established under this section. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The term of an appointment 

6 under subparagraph (A) may not exceed 4 

7 years. 

8 ‘‘(iii) An individual appointed under 

9 subparagraph (A) may not have been an 

10 employee of the Department of the Interior 

11 during the 2-year period prior to the date 

12 of appointment. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Total annual compensation for 

14 any individual appointed under subpara15 graph (A) may not exceed the highest total 

16 annual compensation payable at the rate 

17 determined under section 104 of title 3, 

18 United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(v) An individual appointed under 

20 subparagraph (A) may not be considered 

21 to be an employee for purposes of sub22 chapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United 

23 States Code. 

24 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—Each year, the Sec25 retary shall submit to Congress a notification 


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1 that lists each individual appointed under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(3) REEMPLOYMENT OF CIVILIAN RETIR4 EES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding part 

6 553 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (re7 lating to reemployment of civilian retirees to 

8 meet exceptional employment needs), or suc9 cessor regulations, the Secretary may approve 

10 the reemployment of an individual to a par11 ticular position without reduction or termi12 nation of annuity if the hiring of the individual 

13 is necessary to carry out a critical function of 

14 any of the organizational units established 

15 under this section for which suitably qualified 

16 candidates do not exist. 

17 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—An annuitant hired 

18 with full salary and annuities under the author19 ity granted by subparagraph (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall not be considered an em21 ployee for purposes of subchapter III of 

22 chapter 83 and chapter 84 of title 5, 

23 United States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may not elect to have retirement 

2 contributions withheld from the pay of the 

3 annuitant; 

4 ‘‘(iii) may not use any employment 

5 under this paragraph as a basis for a sup6 plemental or recomputed annuity; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) may not participate in the Thrift 

8 Savings Plan under subchapter III of 

9 chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON TERM.—The term of 

11 employment of any individual hired under sub12 paragraph (A) may not exceed an initial term 

13 of 2 years, with an additional 2-year appoint14 ment under exceptional circumstances. 

15 ‘‘(e) CONTINUITY OF AUTHORITY.—Subject to the 

16 discretion granted by Reorganization Plan Number 3 of 

17 1950 (64 Stat. 1262; 43 U.S.C. 1451 note), any reference 

18 in any law, rule, regulation, directive, or instruction, or 

19 certificate or other official document, in force immediately 

20 prior to the date of enactment of this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) to the Minerals Management Service that 

22 pertains to any of the duties and authorities de23 scribed in this section shall be deemed to refer and 

24 apply to the appropriate bureaus and offices estab25 lished under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to the Director of the Minerals Manage2 ment Service that pertains to any of the duties and 

3 authorities described in this section shall be deemed 

4 to refer and apply to the Director of the bureau or 

5 office under this section to whom the Secretary has 

6 assigned the respective duty or authority; and 

7 ‘‘(3) to any other position in the Minerals Man8 agement Service that pertains to any of the duties 

9 and authorities described in this section shall be 

10 deemed to refer and apply to that same or equiva11 lent position in the appropriate bureau or office es12 tablished under this section.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5316 of 

14 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Direc15 tor, Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior’’ and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘Bureau Directors, Department of the Interior 

18 (2). 

19 ‘‘Director, Royalty and Revenue Office, Depart20 ment of the Interior.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND FINANCIAL RE2 FORM OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

3 LANDS ACT. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Outer Conti5 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(r) SAFETY CASE.—The term ‘safety case’ means 

8 a complete set of safety documentation that provides a 

9 basis for determining whether a system is adequately safe 

10 for a given application in a given environment.’’. 

11 (b) ADMINISTRATION OF LEASING.—Section 5(a) of 

12 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

13 1334(a)) is amended in the second sentence— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary may at any 

15 time’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall’’; and 

16 (2) by inserting after ‘‘provide for’’ the fol17 lowing: ‘‘operational safety, the protection of the ma18 rine and coastal environment,’’. 

19 (c) MAINTENANCE OF LEASES.—Section 6 of the 

20 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1335) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) REVIEW OF BOND AND SURETY AMOUNTS.— 

23 Not later than May 1, 2011, and every 5 years thereafter, 

24 the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review the minimum financial responsi2 bility requirements for mineral leases under sub3 section (a)(11); and 

4 ‘‘(2) adjust for inflation based on the Consumer 

5 Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by 

6 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

7 Labor, and recommend to Congress any further 

8 changes to existing financial responsibility require9 ments necessary to permit lessees to fulfill all obliga10 tions under this Act or the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

11 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(g) PERIODIC FISCAL REVIEWS AND REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ROYALTY RATES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this subsection 

16 and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

17 carry out a review of, and prepare a report that 

18 describes— 

19 ‘‘(i) the royalty and rental rates in20 cluded in new offshore oil and gas leases 

21 and the rationale for the rates; 

22 ‘‘(ii) whether, in the view of the Sec23 retary, the royalty and rental rates de24 scribed in subparagraph (A) would yield a 

25 fair return to the public while promoting 


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1 the production of oil and gas resources in 

2 a timely manner; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) whether, based on the review, 

4 the Secretary intends to modify the royalty 

5 or rental rates. 

6 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In carrying 

7 out a review and preparing a report under sub8 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall provide to 

9 the public an opportunity to participate. 

10 ‘‘(2) COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF FISCAL SYS11 TEM.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

13 after the date of enactment of this subsection 

14 and every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary in 

15 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

16 shall carry out a comprehensive review of all 

17 components of the Federal offshore oil and gas 

18 fiscal system, including requirements for bonus 

19 bids, rental rates, royalties, oil and gas taxes, 

20 income taxes and other significant financial ele21 ments, and oil and gas fees. 

22 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The review shall in23 clude— 

24 ‘‘(i) information and analyses com25 paring the offshore bonus bids, rents, royVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S917.IS S917

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1 alties, taxes, and fees of the Federal Gov2 ernment to the offshore bonus bids, rents, 

3 royalties, taxes, and fees of other resource 

4 owners (including States and foreign coun5 tries); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the overall off7 shore oil and gas fiscal system in the 

8 United States, as compared to foreign 

9 countries. 

10 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COM11 MITTEE.—In carrying out a review under this 

12 paragraph, the Secretary shall convene and seek 

13 the advice of an independent advisory com14 mittee comprised of oil and gas and fiscal ex15 perts from States, Indian tribes, academia, the 

16 energy industry, and appropriate nongovern17 mental organizations. 

18 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—The Secretary shall pre19 pare a report that contains— 

20 ‘‘(i) the contents and results of the re21 view carried out under this paragraph for 

22 the period covered by the report; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations of the Sec24 retary and the Secretary of the Treasury 


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1 based on the contents and results of the 

2 review. 

3 ‘‘(E) COMBINED REPORT.—The Secretary 

4 may combine the reports required by para5 graphs (1) and (2)(D) into 1 report. 

6 ‘‘(3) REPORT DEADLINE.—Not later than 30 

7 days after the date on which the Secretary completes 

8 each report under this subsection, the Secretary 

9 shall submit copies of the report to— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Energy and Nat11 ural Resources of the Senate; 

12 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Finance of the 

13 Senate; 

14 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Natural Resources 

15 of the House of Representatives; and 

16 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Ways and Means 

17 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

18 (d) LEASES, EASEMENTS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

19 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

20 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by striking subsection (d) and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) DISQUALIFICATION FROM BIDDING.—No bid 

23 for a lease may be submitted by any entity that the Sec24 retary finds, after prior public notice and opportunity for 

25 a hearing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is not meeting due diligence, safety, or en2 vironmental requirements on other leases; or 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) is a responsible party for a vessel or a 

4 facility from which oil is discharged, for purposes of 

5 section 1002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

6 U.S.C. 2702); and 

7 ‘‘(B) has failed to meet the obligations of the 

8 responsible party under that Act to provide com9 pensation for covered removal costs and damages.’’. 

10 (e) EXPLORATION PLANS.—Section 11 of the Outer 

11 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in subsection (c)— 

14 (A) in the fourth sentence of paragraph 

15 (1), by striking ‘‘within thirty days of its sub16 mission’’ and inserting ‘‘by the deadline de17 scribed in paragraph (5)’’; 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An exploration plan 

22 submitted under this subsection shall include, 

23 in such degree of detail as the Secretary by reg24 ulation may require— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a complete description and sched2 ule of the exploration activities to be un3 dertaken; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of the equipment to 

5 be used for the exploration activities, in6 cluding— 

7 ‘‘(I) a description of the drilling 

8 unit; 

9 ‘‘(II) a statement of the design 

10 and condition of major safety-related 

11 pieces of equipment; 

12 ‘‘(III) a description of any new 

13 technology to be used; and 

14 ‘‘(IV) a statement demonstrating 

15 that the equipment to be used meets 

16 the best available technology require17 ments under section 21(b); 

18 ‘‘(iii) a map showing the location of 

19 each well to be drilled; 

20 ‘‘(iv)(I) a scenario for the potential 

21 blowout of the well involving the highest 

22 expected volume of liquid hydrocarbons; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) a complete description of a re25 sponse plan to control the blowout and 


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1 manage the accompanying discharge of hy2 drocarbons, including— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the technology and timeline 

4 for regaining control of the well; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) the strategy, organization, 

6 and resources to be used to avoid 

7 harm to the environment and human 

8 health from hydrocarbons; and 

9 ‘‘(v) any other information determined 

10 to be relevant by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(B) DEEPWATER WELLS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before conducting 

13 exploration activities in water depths 

14 greater than 500 feet, the holder of a lease 

15 shall submit to the Secretary for approval 

16 a deepwater operations plan prepared by 

17 the lessee in accordance with this subpara18 graph. 

19 ‘‘(ii) TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 A deepwater operations plan under this 

21 subparagraph shall be based on the best 

22 available technology to ensure safety in 

23 carrying out the exploration activity and 

24 the blowout response plan. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) SYSTEMS ANALYSIS RE2 QUIRED.—The Secretary shall not approve 

3 a deepwater operations plan under this 

4 subparagraph unless the plan includes a 

5 technical systems analysis of— 

6 ‘‘(I) the safety of the proposed 

7 exploration activity; 

8 ‘‘(II) the blowout prevention 

9 technology; and 

10 ‘‘(III) the blowout and spill re11 sponse plans.’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a lease 

15 issued under a sale held after March 17, 2010, 

16 the deadline for approval of an exploration plan 

17 referred to in the fourth sentence of paragraph 

18 (1) is— 

19 ‘‘(i) the date that is 90 days after the 

20 date on which the plan or the modifica21 tions to the plan are submitted; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the date that is not later than an 

23 additional 180 days after the deadline de24 scribed in clause (i), if the Secretary 

25 makes a finding that additional time is 


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1 necessary to complete any environmental, 

2 safety, or other reviews. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXISTING LEASES.—In the case of a 

4 lease issued under a sale held on or before 

5 March 17, 2010, the Secretary, with the con6 sent of the holder of the lease, may extend the 

7 deadline applicable to the lease for such addi8 tional time as the Secretary determines is nec9 essary to complete any environmental, safety, or 

10 other reviews.’’; 

11 (2) by resdesignating subsections (e) through 

12 (h) as subsections (f) through (i), respectively; and 

13 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(d) DRILLING PERMITS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by 

17 regulation, require that any lessee operating under 

18 an approved exploration plan obtain a permit— 

19 ‘‘(A) before the lessee drills a well in ac20 cordance with the plan; and 

21 ‘‘(B) before the lessee significantly modi22 fies the well design originally approved by the 

23 Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(2) ENGINEERING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The 

25 Secretary may not grant any drilling permit until 


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1 the date of completion of a full review of the well 

2 system by not less than 2 agency engineers, includ3 ing a written determination that— 

4 ‘‘(A) critical safety systems (including 

5 blowout prevention) will use best available tech6 nology; and 

7 ‘‘(B) blowout prevention systems will in8 clude redundancy and remote triggering capa9 bility. 

10 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATION REVIEW REQUIRED.—The 

11 Secretary may not approve any modification of a 

12 permit without a determination, after an additional 

13 engineering review, that the modification will not 

14 compromise the safety of the well system previously 

15 approved. 

16 ‘‘(4) OPERATOR SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

17 MANAGEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not 

18 grant any drilling permit or modification of the per19 mit until the date of completion and approval of a 

20 safety and environmental management plan that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is to be used by the operator during 

22 all well operations; and 

23 ‘‘(B) includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a description of the expertise and 

2 experience level of crew members who will 

3 be present on the rig; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) designation of at least 2 environ5 mental and safety managers that— 

6 ‘‘(I) are employees of the oper7 ator; 

8 ‘‘(II) would be present on the rig 

9 at all times; and 

10 ‘‘(III) have overall responsibility 

11 for the safety and environmental man12 agement of the well system and spill 

13 response plan; and 

14 ‘‘(C) not later than May 1, 2012, requires 

15 that all employees on the rig meet the training 

16 and experience requirements under section 

17 21(b)(4). 

18 ‘‘(e) DISAPPROVAL OF EXPLORATION PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis20 approve an exploration plan submitted under this 

21 section if the Secretary determines that, because of 

22 exceptional geological conditions in the lease areas, 

23 exceptional resource values in the marine or coastal 

24 environment, or other exceptional circumstances, 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) implementation of the exploration 

2 plan would probably cause serious harm or 

3 damage to life (including fish and other aquatic 

4 life), property, mineral deposits, national secu5 rity or defense, or the marine, coastal or human 

6 environments; 

7 ‘‘(B) the threat of harm or damage would 

8 not disappear or decrease to an acceptable ex9 tent within a reasonable period of time; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the advantages of disapproving the 

11 exploration plan outweigh the advantages of ex12 ploration. 

13 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION.—If an exploration plan is 

14 disapproved under this subsection, the provisions of 

15 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 25(h)(2) shall 

16 apply to the lease and the plan or any modified plan, 

17 except that the reference in section 25(h)(2)(C) to a 

18 development and production plan shall be considered 

19 to be a reference to an exploration plan.’’. 

20 (f) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO21 GRAM.—Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

22 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in the second sentence, by inserting 

25 after ‘‘national energy needs’’ the following: 


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1 ‘‘and the need for the protection of the marine 

2 and coastal environment and resources’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘con4 siders’’ and inserting ‘‘gives equal consideration 

5 to’’; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, to the 

7 maximum extent practicable,’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) provide technical review and oversight of 

15 the exploration plan and a systems review of the 

16 safety of the well design and other operational deci17 sions; 

18 ‘‘(6) conduct regular and thorough safety re19 views and inspections, and; 

20 ‘‘(7) enforce all applicable laws (including regu21 lations).’’; 

22 (3) in the second sentence of subsection (d)(2), 

23 by inserting ‘‘, the head of an interested Federal 

24 agency,’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’; 


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1 (4) in the first sentence of subsection (g), by in2 serting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, 

3 including existing inventories and mapping of ma4 rine resources previously undertaken by the Depart5 ment of the Interior and the National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration, information provided 

7 by the Department of Defense, and other available 

8 data regarding energy or mineral resource potential, 

9 navigation uses, fisheries, aquaculture uses, rec10 reational uses, habitat, conservation, and military 

11 uses on the outer Continental Shelf’’; and 

12 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

15 out a program of research and development to en16 sure the continued improvement of methodologies for 

17 characterizing resources of the outer Continental 

18 Shelf and conditions that may affect the ability to 

19 develop and use those resources in a safe, sound, 

20 and environmentally responsible manner. 

21 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—Research and development 

22 activities carried out under paragraph (1) may in23 clude activities to provide accurate estimates of en24 ergy and mineral reserves and potential on the outer 

25 Continental Shelf and any activities that may assist 


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1 in filling gaps in environmental data needed to de2 velop each leasing program under this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) LEASING ACTIVITIES.—Research and de4 velopment activities carried out under paragraph (1) 

5 shall not be considered to be leasing or pre-leasing 

6 activities for purposes of this Act.’’. 

7 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.—Section 20 of the 

8 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (f) 

11 as subsections (b) through (g), respectively; 

12 (2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re13 designated) the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE AND INDEPENDENT STUD15 IES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

17 and carry out programs for the collection, evalua18 tion, assembly, analysis, and dissemination of envi19 ronmental and other resource data that are relevant 

20 to carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF RESEARCH.—The programs 

22 under this subsection shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) the gathering of baseline data in 

24 areas before energy or mineral resource devel25 opment activities occur; 


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1 ‘‘(B) ecosystem research and monitoring 

2 studies to support integrated resource manage3 ment decisions; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the improvement of scientific under5 standing of the fate, transport, and effects of 

6 discharges and spilled materials, including deep 

7 water hydrocarbon spills, in the marine environ8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(3) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that information from the studies carried out 

11 under this section— 

12 ‘‘(A) informs the management of energy 

13 and mineral resources on the outer Continental 

14 Shelf including any areas under consideration 

15 for oil and gas leasing; and 

16 ‘‘(B) contributes to a broader coordination 

17 of energy and mineral resource development ac18 tivities within the context of best available 

19 science. 

20 ‘‘(4) INDEPENDENCE.—The Secretary shall cre21 ate a program within the appropriate bureau estab22 lished under section 32 that shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) be programmatically separate and 

24 distinct from the leasing program; 


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1 ‘‘(B) carry out the environmental studies 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(C) conduct additional environmental 

4 studies relevant to the sound management of 

5 energy and mineral resources on the outer Con6 tinental Shelf; 

7 ‘‘(D) provide for external scientific review 

8 of studies under this section, including through 

9 appropriate arrangements with the National 

10 Academy of Sciences; and 

11 ‘‘(E) subject to the restrictions of sub12 sections (g) and (h) of section 18, make avail13 able to the public studies conducted and data 

14 gathered under this section.’’; and 

15 (3) in the first sentence of subsection (b)(1) (as 

16 so redesignated), by inserting ‘‘every 3 years’’ after 

17 ‘‘shall conduct’’. 

18 (h) SAFETY RESEARCH AND REGULATIONS.—Section 

19 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

20 1347) is amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by 

22 striking ‘‘Upon the date of enactment of this sec23 tion,’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than May 1, 2011, 

24 and every 3 years thereafter,’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(b) BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND PRAC4 TICES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In exercising respective re6 sponsibilities under this Act, the Secretary, and the 

7 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

8 Guard is operating, shall require, on all new drilling 

9 and production operations and, to the maximum ex10 tent practicable, on existing operations, the use of 

11 the best available and safest technologies and prac12 tices, if the failure of equipment would have a sig13 nificant effect on safety, health, or the environment. 

14 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF BEST AVAILABLE

15 TECHNOLOGIES.—Not later than May 1, 2011, and 

16 not later than every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary 

17 shall identify and publish an updated list of best 

18 available technologies for key areas of well design 

19 and operation, including blowout prevention and 

20 blowout and oil spill response. 

21 ‘‘(3) SAFETY CASE.—Not later than May 1, 

22 2011, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations re23 quiring a safety case be submitted along with each 

24 new application for a permit to drill on the outer 

25 Continental Shelf. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYEE TRAINING.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1, 

3 2011, the Secretary shall promulgate regula4 tions setting standards for training for all 

5 workers on offshore facilities (including mobile 

6 offshore drilling units) conducting energy and 

7 mineral resource exploration, development, and 

8 production operations on the outer Continental 

9 Shelf. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The training 

11 standards under this paragraph shall require 

12 that employers of workers described in subpara13 graph (A)— 

14 ‘‘(i) establish training programs ap15 proved by the Secretary; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate that employees in17 volved in the offshore operations meet 

18 standards that demonstrate the aptitude of 

19 the employees in critical technical skills. 

20 ‘‘(C) EXPERIENCE.—The training stand21 ards under this section shall require that any 

22 offshore worker with less than 5 years of ap23 plied experience in offshore facilities operations 

24 pass a certification requirement after receiving 

25 the appropriate training. 


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1 ‘‘(D) MONITORING TRAINING COURSES.— 

2 The Secretary shall ensure that Department 

3 employees responsible for inspecting offshore fa4 cilities monitor, observe, and report on training 

5 courses established under this paragraph, in6 cluding attending a representative number of 

7 the training sessions, as determined by the Sec8 retary.’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(g) TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND RISK ASSESS11 MENT PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

13 out a program of research, development, and risk as14 sessment to address technology and development 

15 issues associated with outer Continental Shelf en16 ergy and mineral resource activities, with the pri17 mary purpose of informing the role of research, de18 velopment, and risk assessment relating to safety, 

19 environmental protection, and spill response. 

20 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC AREAS OF FOCUS.—The program 

21 under this subsection shall include research, develop22 ment, and other activities related to— 

23 ‘‘(A) risk assessment, using all available 

24 data from safety and compliance records both 

25 within the United States and internationally; 


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1 ‘‘(B) analysis of industry trends in tech2 nology, investment, and interest in frontier 

3 areas; 

4 ‘‘(C) analysis of incidents investigated 

5 under section 22; 

6 ‘‘(D) reviews of best available technologies, 

7 including technologies associated with pipelines, 

8 blowout preventer mechanisms, casing, well de9 sign, and other associated infrastructure related 

10 to offshore energy development; 

11 ‘‘(E) oil spill response and mitigation; 

12 ‘‘(F) risks associated with human factors; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(G) renewable energy operations. 

15 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION SHARING ACTIVITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES.—The Sec17 retary shall carry out programs to facilitate the 

18 exchange and dissemination of scientific and 

19 technical information and best practices related 

20 to the management of safety and environmental 

21 issues associated with energy and mineral re22 source exploration, development, and produc23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(B) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.— 

25 The Secretary shall carry out programs to coVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S917.IS S917

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1 operate with international organizations and 

2 foreign governments to share information and 

3 best practices related to the management of 

4 safety and environmental issues associated with 

5 energy and mineral resource exploration, devel6 opment, and production. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The program under this sub8 section shall provide to the Secretary, each Bureau 

9 Director under section 32, and the public quarterly 

10 reports that address— 

11 ‘‘(A) developments in each of the areas 

12 under paragraph (2); and 

13 ‘‘(B)(i) any accidents that have occurred in 

14 the past quarter; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) appropriate responses to the acci16 dents. 

17 ‘‘(5) INDEPENDENCE.—The Secretary shall cre18 ate a program within the appropriate bureau estab19 lished under section 32 that shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) be programmatically separate and 

21 distinct from the leasing program; 

22 ‘‘(B) carry out the studies, analyses, and 

23 other activities under this subsection; 

24 ‘‘(C) provide for external scientific review 

25 of studies under this section, including through 


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1 appropriate arrangements with the National 

2 Academy of Sciences; and 

3 ‘‘(D) make available to the public studies 

4 conducted and data gathered under this section. 

5 ‘‘(6) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that the information from the studies and re7 search carried out under this section inform the de8 velopment of safety practices and regulations as re9 quired by this Act and other applicable laws.’’. 

10 (i) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 22 of the Outer Conti11 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) in the first sentence, by inserting 

15 ‘‘, each loss of well control, blowout, activa16 tion of the blowout preventer, and other 

17 accident that presented a serious risk to 

18 human or environmental safety,’’ after 

19 ‘‘fire’’; and 

20 (ii) in the last sentence, by inserting 

21 ‘‘as a condition of the lease’’ before the pe22 riod at the end; 

23 (B) in the last sentence of paragraph (2), 

24 by inserting ‘‘as a condition of lease’’ before the 

25 period at the end; 


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1 (2) in subsection (e)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘(e) The’’ and inserting the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(e) REVIEW OF ALLEGED SAFETY VIOLATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION.—The Secretary shall in8 vestigate any allegation from any employee of the 

9 lessee or any subcontractor of the lessee made under 

10 paragraph (1).’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end of the section the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(g) INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Sec15 retary, the National Transportation Safety Board 

16 may conduct an independent investigation of any ac17 cident, occurring in the outer Continental Shelf and 

18 involving activities under this Act, that does not oth19 erwise fall within the definition of an accident or 

20 major marine casualty, as those terms are used in 

21 chapter 11 of title 49, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT.—For pur23 poses of an investigation under this subsection, the 

24 accident that is the subject of the request by the 

25 Secretary shall be determined to be a transportation 


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1 accident within the meaning of that term in chapter 

2 11 of title 49, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(h) INFORMATION ON CAUSES AND CORRECTIVE

4 ACTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each incident inves6 tigated under this section, the Secretary shall 

7 promptly make available to all lessees and the public 

8 technical information about the causes and correc9 tive actions taken. 

10 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC DATABASE.—All data and reports 

11 related to an incident described in paragraph (1) 

12 shall be maintained in a database that is available 

13 to the public. 

14 ‘‘(i) INSPECTION FEE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent necessary to 

16 fund the inspections described in this paragraph, the 

17 Secretary shall collect a non-refundable inspection 

18 fee, which shall be deposited in the Ocean Energy 

19 Enforcement Fund established under paragraph (3), 

20 from the designated operator for facilities subject to 

21 inspection under subsection (c). 

22 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish, by rule, inspection fees— 

24 ‘‘(A) at an aggregate level equal to the 

25 amount necessary to offset the annual expenses 


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1 of inspections of outer Continental Shelf facili2 ties (including mobile offshore drilling units) by 

3 the Department of the Interior; and 

4 ‘‘(B) using a schedule that reflects the dif5 ferences in complexity among the classes of fa6 cilities to be inspected. 

7 ‘‘(3) OCEAN ENERGY ENFORCEMENT FUND.— 

8 There is established in the Treasury a fund, to be 

9 known as the ‘Ocean Energy Enforcement Fund’ 

10 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Fund’), into 

11 which shall be deposited amounts collected under 

12 paragraph (1) and which shall be available as pro13 vided under paragraph (4). 

14 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding 

15 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, all 

16 amounts collected by the Secretary under this sec17 tion— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec19 tions; 

20 ‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure only 

21 for purposes of carrying out inspections of 

22 outer Continental Shelf facilities (including mo23 bile offshore drilling units) and the administra24 tion of the inspection program; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall be available only to the extent 

2 provided for in advance in an appropriations 

3 Act; and 

4 ‘‘(D) shall remain available until expended. 

5 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning 

8 with fiscal year 2011, the Secretary shall sub9 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

10 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Natural Resources of the House of Representa12 tives a report on the operation of the Fund dur13 ing the fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report shall in15 clude, for the fiscal year covered by the report, 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) A statement of the amounts de18 posited into the Fund. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A description of the expenditures 

20 made from the Fund for the fiscal year, in21 cluding the purpose of the expenditures. 

22 ‘‘(iii) Recommendations for additional 

23 authorities to fulfill the purpose of the 

24 Fund. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) A statement of the balance re2 maining in the Fund at the end of the fis3 cal year.’’. 

4 (j) REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.—Section 24 of the 

5 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1350) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

11 through (3), if any person fails to comply with this 

12 Act, any term of a lease or permit issued under this 

13 Act, or any regulation or order issued under this 

14 Act, the person shall be liable for a civil administra15 tive penalty of not more than $75,000 for each day 

16 of continuance of each failure. 

17 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may as18 sess, collect, and compromise any penalty under 

19 paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(3) HEARING.—No penalty shall be assessed 

21 under this subsection until the person charged with 

22 a violation has been given the opportunity for a 

23 hearing. 

24 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT.—The penalty amount speci25 fied in this subsection shall increase each year to reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S917.IS S917

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1 flect any increases in the Consumer Price Index for 

2 All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

3 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

6 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘The penalty amount specified in this sub9 section shall increase each year to reflect any 

10 increases in the Consumer Price Index for All 

11 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

12 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.’’; 

13 and 

14 (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, or with 

15 reckless disregard,’’ after ‘‘knowingly and willfully’’. 

16 (k) OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUC17 TION.—Section 25 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

18 Act (43 U.S.C. 1351) is amended by striking ‘‘, other than 

19 the Gulf of Mexico,’’ each place it appears in subsections 

20 (a)(1), (b), and (e)(1). 

21 (l) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 29 of the 

22 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1355) is 

23 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 29. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 

2 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT.—No full-time 

3 officer or employee of the Department of the Interior who 

4 directly or indirectly discharges duties or responsibilities 

5 under this Act shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) within 2 years after his employment with 

7 the Department has ceased— 

8 ‘‘(A) knowingly act as agent or attorney 

9 for, or otherwise represent, any other person 

10 (except the United States) in any formal or in11 formal appearance before; 

12 ‘‘(B) with the intent to influence, make 

13 any oral or written communication on behalf of 

14 any other person (except the United States) to; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(C) knowingly aid, advise, or assist in— 

17 ‘‘(i) representing any other person 

18 (except the United States) in any formal 

19 or informal appearance before; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) making, with the intent to influ21 ence, any oral or written communication 

22 on behalf of any other person (except the 

23 United States) to, 

24 any department, agency, or court of the United 

25 States, or any officer or employee thereof, in connec26 tion with any judicial or other proceeding, applicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S917.IS S917

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1 tion, request for a ruling or other determination, 

2 regulation, order lease, permit, rulemaking, inspec3 tion, enforcement action, or other particular matter 

4 involving a specific party or parties in which the 

5 United States is a party or has a direct and sub6 stantial interest which was actually pending under 

7 his official responsibility as an officer or employee 

8 within a period of one year prior to the termination 

9 of such responsibility or in which he participated 

10 personally and substantially as an officer or em11 ployee; 

12 ‘‘(2) within 1 year after his employment with 

13 the Department has ceased— 

14 ‘‘(A) knowingly act as agent or attorney 

15 for, or otherwise represent, any other person 

16 (except the United States) in any formal or in17 formal appearance before; 

18 ‘‘(B) with the intent to influence, make 

19 any oral or written communication on behalf of 

20 any other person (except the United States) to; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(C) knowingly aid , advise, or assist in — 

23 ‘‘(i) representing any other person 

24 (except the United States) in any formal 

25 or informal appearance before, or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) making, with the intent to influ2 ence, any oral or written communication 

3 on behalf of any other person (except the 

4 United States) to, 

5 the Department of the Interior, or any officer or em6 ployee thereof, in connection with any judicial, rule7 making, regulation, order, lease, permit, regulation, 

8 inspection, enforcement action, or other particular 

9 matter which is pending before the Department of 

10 the Interior or in which the Department has a direct 

11 and substantial interest; or 

12 ‘‘(3) accept employment or compensation, dur13 ing the 1-year period beginning on the date on which 

14 employment with the Department has ceased, from 

15 any person (other than the United States) that has 

16 a direct and substantial interest— 

17 ‘‘(A) that was pending under the official 

18 responsibility of the employee as an officer or 

19 employee of the Department during the 1-year 

20 period preceding the termination of the respon21 sibility; or 

22 ‘‘(B) in which the employee participated 

23 personally and substantially as an officer or em24 ployee. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PRIOR EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS.—No 

2 full-time officer or employee of the Department of the In3 terior who directly or indirectly discharges duties or re4 sponsibilities under this Act shall participate personally 

5 and substantially as a Federal officer or employee, 

6 through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, 

7 the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in a 

8 proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other de9 termination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusa10 tion, inspection, enforcement action, or other particular 

11 matter in which, to the knowledge of the officer or em12 ployee— 

13 ‘‘(1) the officer or employee or the spouse, 

14 minor child, or general partner of the officer or em15 ployee has a financial interest; 

16 ‘‘(2) any organization in which the officer or 

17 employee is serving as an officer, director, trustee, 

18 general partner, or employee has a financial interest; 

19 ‘‘(3) any person or organization with whom the 

20 officer or employee is negotiating or has any ar21 rangement concerning prospective employment has a 

22 financial interest; or 

23 ‘‘(4) any person or organization in which the of24 ficer or employee has, within the preceding 1-year 

25 period, served as an officer, director, trustee, general 


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1 partner, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, or 

2 employee has a financial interest. 

3 ‘‘(c) GIFTS FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.—No full-time 

4 officer or employee of the Department of the Interior who 

5 directly or indirectly discharges duties or responsibilities 

6 under this Act shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or accept 

7 any gift in violation of subpart B of part 2635 of title 

8 V, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

9 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary may, by rule, ex10 empt from this section clerical and support personnel who 

11 do not conduct inspections, perform audits, or otherwise 

12 exercise regulatory or policy making authority under this 

13 Act. 

14 ‘‘(e) PENALTIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who 

16 violates paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) or 

17 subsection (b) shall be punished in accordance with 

18 section 216 of title 18, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any person who vio20 lates subsection (a)(3) or (c) shall be punished in ac21 cordance with subsection (b) of section 216 of title 

22 18, United States Code.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF THE MORATORIA ON 

2 NEW DEEPWATER DRILLING IN THE GULF OF 

3 MEXICO ON EMPLOYMENT AND SMALL BUSI4 NESSES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, acting 

6 through the Energy Information Administration, shall 

7 publish a monthly study evaluating the effect of the mora8 toria resulting from the blowout and explosion of the mo9 bile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that oc10 curred on April 20, 2010, and resulting hydrocarbon re11 leases into the environment, on employment and small 

12 businesses. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act and at the beginning of each 

15 month thereafter during the effective period of the mora16 toria described in subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy, 

17 acting through the Energy Information Administration, 

18 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

20 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report re21 garding the results of the study conducted under sub22 section (a), including— 

23 (1) a survey of the effect of the moratoria on 

24 deepwater drilling on employment in the industries 

25 directly involved in oil and natural gas exploration in 

26 the outer Continental Shelf; 


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1 (2) a survey of the effect of the moratoria on 

2 employment in the industries indirectly involved in 

3 oil and natural gas exploration in the outer Conti4 nental Shelf, including suppliers of supplies or serv5 ices and customers of industries directly involved in 

6 oil and natural gas exploration; 

7 (3) an estimate of the effect of the moratoria 

8 on the revenues of small business located near the 

9 Gulf of Mexico and, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable, throughout the United States; and 

11 (4) any recommendations to mitigate possible 

12 negative effects on small business concerns resulting 

13 from the moratoria. 

14 SEC. 8. REFORM OF OTHER LAW. 

15 Section 388(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (43 

16 U.S.C. 1337 note; Public Law 109–58) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Any head of a Fed19 eral department or agency shall, on request of the 

20 Secretary, provide to the Secretary all data and in21 formation that the Secretary determines to be nec22 essary for the purpose of including the data and in23 formation in the mapping initiative, except that no 

24 Federal department or agency shall be required to 


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1 provide any data or information that is privileged or 

2 proprietary.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. SAFER OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Section 999A of the En5 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘ultra-deepwater’’ and in8 serting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘well control and accident 

10 prevention,’’ after ‘‘safe operations,’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Deepwater architecture, well control and 

15 accident prevention, and deepwater technology, in16 cluding drilling to deep formations in waters greater 

17 than 500 feet.’’; and 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (4) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) Safety technology research and develop21 ment for drilling activities aimed at well control and 

22 accident prevention performed by the Office of Fos23 sil Energy of the Department.’’; and 

24 (3) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORA3 TORY’’ and inserting ‘‘OFFICE OF FOSSIL EN4 ERGY OF THE DEPARTMENT’’; and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘National Energy Tech6 nology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of 

7 Fossil Energy of the Department’’. 

8 (b) DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

9 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM RESEARCH AND

10 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—Section 999B of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16372) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ULTRA13 DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

14 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘SAFE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION AND

16 ACCIDENT PREVENTION’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘, by increas18 ing’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

19 end and inserting ‘‘and the safe and environmentally 

20 responsible exploration, development, and production 

21 of hydrocarbon resources.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

23 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

24 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec25 tively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) projects will be selected on a competi4 tive, peer-reviewed basis.’’; and 

5 (4) in subsection (d)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘ultra7 deepwater’’ and inserting ‘‘deepwater’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (7)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (I) in the subparagraph heading, 

11 by striking ‘‘ULTRA-DEEPWATER’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘DEEPWATER’’; 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘development 

14 and’’ and inserting ‘‘research, develop15 ment, and’’; and 

16 (III) by striking ‘‘as well as’’ and 

17 all that follows through the period at 

18 the end and inserting ‘‘aimed at im19 proving operational safety of drilling 

20 activities, including well integrity sys21 tems, well control, blowout prevention, 

22 the use of non-toxic materials, and in23 tegrated systems approach-based 

24 management for exploration and pro25 duction in deepwater.’’; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘and environmental mitigation’’ and in3 serting ‘‘use of non-toxic materials, drilling 

4 safety, and environmental mitigation and 

5 accident prevention’’; 

6 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

7 ‘‘safety and accident prevention, well con8 trol and systems integrity,’’ after ‘‘includ9 ing’’; and 

10 (iv) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(D) SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION

13 TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP14 MENT.—Awards from allocations under section 

15 999H(d)(4) shall be expended on areas includ16 ing— 

17 ‘‘(i) development of improved cement18 ing and casing technologies; 

19 ‘‘(ii) best management practices for 

20 cementing, casing, and other well control 

21 activities and technologies; 

22 ‘‘(iii) development of integrity and 

23 stewardship guidelines for— 

24 ‘‘(I) well-plugging and abandon25 ment; 


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1 ‘‘(II) development of wellbore 

2 sealant technologies; and 

3 ‘‘(III) improvement and stand4 ardization of blowout prevention de5 vices.’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(8) STUDY; REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after 

9 the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

10 Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with 

11 the National Academy of Sciences under which 

12 the Academy shall conduct a study to deter13 mine— 

14 ‘‘(i) whether the benefits provided 

15 through each award under this subsection 

16 during calendar year 2011 have been maxi17 mized; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the new areas of research that 

19 could be carried out to meet the overall ob20 jectives of the program. 

21 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

22 2012, the Secretary shall submit to the appro23 priate committees of Congress a report that 

24 contains a description of the results of the 

25 study conducted under subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) OPTIONAL UPDATES.—The Secretary 

2 may update the report described in subpara3 graph (B) for the 5-year period beginning on 

4 the date described in that subparagraph and 

5 each 5-year period thereafter.’’; 

6 (5) in subsection (e)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in the second sentence of subpara9 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary 

10 for review’’ after ‘‘submit’’; and 

11 (ii) in the first sentence of subpara12 graph (B), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘and such Ad14 visory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Pro15 gram Advisory Committee established 

16 under section 999D(a), and the Advisory 

17 Committee’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA20 TIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary, in 

21 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and 

22 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency, shall publish in the Federal Register an an24 nual report on the research findings of the program 

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1 tions for implementation that the Secretary, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the 

3 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

4 Agency, determines to be necessary.’’; 

5 (6) in subsection (i)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘, through the United 

11 States Geological Survey,’’; and 

12 (7) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by 

13 striking ‘‘National Energy Technology Laboratory’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Office of Fossil Energy of the De15 partment’’. 

16 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARDS.— 

17 Section 999C(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

18 U.S.C. 16373(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘an ultra-deep19 water technology or an ultra-deepwater architecture’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘a deepwater technology’’. 

21 (d) PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 

22 999D of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16374) 

23 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 999D. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 270 days 

3 after the date of enactment of the Safe and Responsible 

4 Energy Production Improvement Act of 2010, the Sec5 retary shall establish an advisory committee to be known 

6 as the ‘Program Advisory Committee’ (referred to in this 

7 section as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

8 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

10 shall be composed of members appointed by the Sec11 retary, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) individuals with extensive research 

13 experience or operational knowledge of hydro14 carbon exploration and production; 

15 ‘‘(B) individuals broadly representative of 

16 the affected interests in hydrocarbon produc17 tion, including interests in environmental pro18 tection and safety operations; 

19 ‘‘(C) representatives of Federal agencies, 

20 including the Environmental Protection Agency 

21 and the Department of the Interior; 

22 ‘‘(D) State regulatory agency representa23 tives; and 

24 ‘‘(E) other individuals, as determined by 

25 the Secretary. 

26 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com2 mittee shall not include individuals who are 

3 board members, officers, or employees of the 

4 program consortium. 

5 ‘‘(B) CATEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

6 appointing members of the Advisory Committee, 

7 the Secretary shall ensure that no class of indi8 viduals described in any of subparagraphs (A), 

9 (B), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1) comprises 

more than 1 10 ⁄3 of the membership of the Advi11 sory Committee. 

12 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee 

13 may establish subcommittees for separate research pro14 grams carried out under this subtitle. 

15 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) advise the Secretary on the development 

17 and implementation of programs under this subtitle; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) carry out section 999B(e)(2)(B). 

20 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Advisory 

21 Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be 

22 entitled to receive travel expenses in accordance with sub23 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

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1 ticular consortia or other entities, or for specific 

2 projects.’’. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 999G of the Energy Pol4 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16377) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘200 but less 

6 than 1,500 meters’’ and inserting ‘‘500 feet’’; 

7 (2) by striking paragraphs (8), (9), and (10); 

8 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

9 (7) and (11) as paragraphs (4) through (9) and 

10 (10), respectively; 

11 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) DEEPWATER ARCHITECTURE.—The term 

14 ‘deepwater architecture’ means the integration of 

15 technologies for the exploration for, or production of, 

16 natural gas or other petroleum resources located at 

17 deepwater depths. 

18 ‘‘(3) DEEPWATER TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

19 ‘deepwater technology’ means a discrete technology 

20 that is specially suited to address 1 or more chal21 lenges associated with the exploration for, or produc22 tion of, natural gas or other petroleum resources lo23 cated at deepwater depths.’’; and 

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1 sible geological formation, including resources of 

2 small producers’’. 

3 (f) FUNDING.—Section 999H of the Energy Policy 

4 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16378) is amended— 

5 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a) by 

6 striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat7 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘Safe and Responsible Energy Production 

9 Research Fund’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (d)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35 per12 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘21.5 percent’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘32.5 

14 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘21 percent’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in17 serting ‘‘30 percent’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘complementary re19 search’’ and inserting ‘‘safety technology 

20 research and development’’; and 

21 (iii) by striking ‘‘contract manage22 ment,’’ and all that follows through the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and contract 

24 management.’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(5) 20 percent shall be used for research ac2 tivities required under sections 20 and 21 of the 

3 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346, 

4 1347).’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deep6 water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

7 Petroleum Research Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Safer Oil 

8 and Gas Production and Accident Prevention Re9 search Fund’’. 

10 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subtitle J of title 

11 IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371 

12 et seq.) is amended in the subtitle heading by striking 

13 ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat14 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘Safer Oil and Gas Production and Ac16 cident Prevention’’. 

17 SEC. 10. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON OUTER CONTINENTAL 

18 SHELF OIL SPILL PREVENTION. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

20 Legislative branch the National Commission on Outer 

21 Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention (referred to in this 

22 section as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Commission 

24 are— 


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1 (1) to examine and report on the facts and 

2 causes relating to the Deepwater Horizon explosion 

3 and oil spill of 2010; 

4 (2) to ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi5 dence developed by all relevant governmental agen6 cies regarding the facts and circumstances sur7 rounding the incident; 

8 (3) to build upon the investigations of other en9 tities, and avoid unnecessary duplication, by review10 ing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

11 of— 

12 (A) the Committees on Energy and Nat13 ural Resources and Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation of the Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

16 and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Inves17 tigations of the House of Representatives; and 

18 (C) other Executive branch, congressional, 

19 or independent commission investigations into 

20 the Deepwater Horizon incident of 2010, other 

21 fatal oil platform accidents and major spills, 

22 and major oil spills generally; 

23 (4) to make a full and complete accounting of 

24 the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the 

25 extent of the preparedness of the United States for, 


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1 and immediate response of the United States to, the 

2 incident; and 

3 (5) to investigate and report to the President 

4 and Congress findings, conclusions, and rec5 ommendations for corrective measures that may be 

6 taken to prevent similar incidents. 

7 (c) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.— 

8 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be com9 posed of 10 members, of whom— 

10 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

11 President, who shall serve as Chairperson of the 

12 Commission; 

13 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

14 majority or minority (as the case may be) lead15 er of the Senate from the Republican Party and 

16 the majority or minority (as the case may be) 

17 leader of the House of Representatives from the 

18 Republican Party, who shall serve as Vice 

19 Chairperson of the Commission; 

20 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

21 senior member of the leadership of the Senate 

22 from the Democratic Party; 

23 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

24 senior member of the leadership of the House 

25 of Representatives from the Republican Party; 


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1 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

2 senior member of the leadership of the Senate 

3 from the Republican Party; and 

4 (F) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

5 senior member of the leadership of the House 

6 of Representatives from the Democratic Party. 

7 (2) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

8 (A) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not 

9 more than 5 members of the Commission shall 

10 be from the same political party. 

11 (B) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.— 

12 An individual appointed to the Commission may 

13 not be a current officer or employee of the Fed14 eral Government or any State or local govern15 ment. 

16 (C) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the 

17 sense of Congress that individuals appointed to 

18 the Commission should be prominent United 

19 States citizens, with national recognition and 

20 significant depth of experience and expertise in 

21 such areas as— 

22 (i) engineering; 

23 (ii) environmental compliance; 

24 (iii) health and safety law (particu25 larly oil spill legislation); 


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1 (iv) oil spill insurance policies; 

2 (v) public administration; 

3 (vi) oil and gas exploration and pro4 duction; 

5 (vii) environmental cleanup; and 

6 (viii) fisheries and wildlife manage7 ment. 

8 (D) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All 

9 members of the Commission shall be appointed 

10 on or before September 15, 2010. 

11 (E) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission 

12 shall meet and begin the operations of the Com13 mission as soon as practicable after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act. 

15 (3) QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—After the initial meet17 ing of the Commission, the Commission shall 

18 meet upon the call of the Chairperson or a ma19 jority of the members of the Commission. 

20 (B) QUORUM.—Six members of the Com21 mission shall constitute a quorum. 

22 (C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Com23 mission shall not affect the powers of the Com24 mission, but shall be filled in the same manner 

25 in which the original appointment was made. 


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1 (d) FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The functions of the Com3 mission are— 

4 (A) to conduct an investigation that— 

5 (i) investigates relevant facts and cir6 cumstances relating to the Deepwater Ho7 rizon incident of April 20, 2010, and the 

8 associated oil spill thereafter, including any 

9 relevant legislation, Executive order, regu10 lation, plan, policy, practice, or procedure; 

11 and 

12 (ii) may include relevant facts and cir13 cumstances relating to— 

14 (I) permitting agencies; 

15 (II) environmental and worker 

16 safety law enforcement agencies; 

17 (III) national energy require18 ments; 

19 (IV) deepwater and ultradeepwa20 ter oil and gas exploration and devel21 opment; 

22 (V) regulatory specifications, 

23 testing, and requirements for offshore 

24 oil and gas well explosion prevention; 


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1 (VI) regulatory specifications, 

2 testing, and requirements offshore oil 

3 and gas well casing and cementing 

4 regulation; 

5 (VII) the role of congressional 

6 oversight and resource allocation; and 

7 (VIII) other areas of the public 

8 and private sectors determined to be 

9 relevant to the Deepwater Horizon in10 cident by the Commission; 

11 (B) to identify, review, and evaluate the 

12 lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon in13 cident of April 20, 2010, regarding the struc14 ture, coordination, management policies, and 

15 procedures of the Federal Government, and, if 

16 appropriate, State and local governments and 

17 nongovernmental entities, and the private sec18 tor, relative to detecting, preventing, and re19 sponding to those incidents; and 

20 (C) to submit to the President and Con21 gress such reports as are required under this 

22 section containing such findings, conclusions, 

23 and recommendations as the Commission deter24 mines to be appropriate, including proposals for 

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1 ment arrangements, procedures, rules, and reg2 ulations. 

3 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO INQUIRY BY CONGRES4 SIONAL COMMITTEES.—In investigating facts and 

5 circumstances relating to energy policy, the Commis6 sion shall— 

7 (A) first review the information compiled 

8 by, and any findings, conclusions, and rec9 ommendations of, the committees identified in 

10 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

11 (b)(3); and 

12 (B) after completion of that review, pursue 

13 any appropriate area of inquiry, if the Commis14 sion determines that— 

15 (i) those committees have not inves16 tigated that area; 

17 (ii) the investigation of that area by 

18 those committees has not been completed; 

19 or 

20 (iii) new information not reviewed by 

21 the committees has become available with 

22 respect to that area. 

23 (e) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 

24 (1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis25 sion or, on the authority of the Commission, any 


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1 subcommittee or member of the Commission, may, 

2 for the purpose of carrying out this section— 

3 (A) hold such hearings, meet and act at 

4 such times and places, take such testimony, re5 ceive such evidence, and administer such oaths; 

6 and 

7 (B) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the 

8 attendance and testimony of such witnesses and 

9 the production of such books, records, cor10 respondence, memoranda, papers, documents, 

11 tapes, and materials; 

12 as the Commission or such subcommittee or member 

13 considers to be advisable. 

14 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

15 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

17 issued under this paragraph only— 

18 (I) by the agreement of the 

19 Chairperson and the Vice Chair20 person; or 

21 (II) by the affirmative vote of 6 

22 members of the Commission. 

23 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subject to clause 

24 (i), a subpoena issued under this para25 graph— 


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1 (I) shall bear the signature of the 

2 Chairperson or any member des3 ignated by a majority of the Commis4 sion; 

5 (II) and may be served by any 

6 person or class of persons designated 

7 by the Chairperson or by a member 

8 designated by a majority of the Com9 mission for that purpose. 

10 (B) ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of con12 tumacy or failure to obey a subpoena 

13 issued under subparagraph (A), the United 

14 States district court for the district in 

15 which the subpoenaed person resides, is 

16 served, or may be found, or where the sub17 poena is returnable, may issue an order re18 quiring the person to appear at any des19 ignated place to testify or to produce docu20 mentary or other evidence. 

21 (ii) JUDICIAL ACTION FOR NON22 COMPLIANCE.—Any failure to obey the 

23 order of the court may be punished by the 

24 court as a contempt of that court. 


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1 (iii) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In 

2 the case of any failure of any witness to 

3 comply with any subpoena or to testify 

4 when summoned under authority of this 

5 subsection, the Commission may, by major6 ity vote, certify a statement of fact consti7 tuting such failure to the appropriate 

8 United States attorney, who may bring the 

9 matter before the grand jury for action, 

10 under the same statutory authority and 

11 procedures as if the United States attorney 

12 had received a certification under sections 

13 102 through 104 of the Revised Statutes 

14 (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194). 

15 (3) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to 

16 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

17 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 

18 the Commission to discharge the duties of the Com19 mission under this section. 

20 (4) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

22 secure directly from any Executive department, 

23 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, inde24 pendent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

25 Federal Government, information, suggestions, 


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1 estimates, and statistics for the purposes of this 

2 section. 

3 (B) COOPERATION.—Each Federal depart4 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, of5 fice, independent establishment, or instrumen6 tality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur7 nish information, suggestions, estimates, and 

8 statistics directly to the Commission, upon re9 quest made by the Chairperson, the Chair10 person of any subcommittee created by a major11 ity of the Commission, or any member des12 ignated by a majority of the Commission. 

13 (C) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND

14 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall be received, 

15 handled, stored, and disseminated only by mem16 bers of the Commission and the staff of the 

17 Commission in accordance with all applicable 

18 laws (including regulations and Executive or19 ders). 

20 (5) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (A) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRA22 TION.—The Administrator of General Services 

23 shall provide to the Commission on a reimburs24 able basis administrative support and other 


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1 services for the performance of the functions of 

2 the Commission. 

3 (B) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN4 CIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 

5 in subparagraph (A), departments and agencies 

6 of the United States may provide to the Com7 mission such services, funds, facilities, staff, 

8 and other support services as are determined to 

9 be advisable and authorized by law. 

10 (6) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, 

11 and dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop12 erty, including travel, for the direct advancement of 

13 the functions of the Commission. 

14 (7) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may 

15 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

16 under the same conditions as departments and agen17 cies of the United States. 

18 (f) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.— 

19 (1) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUB20 LIC VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission 

21 shall— 

22 (A) hold public hearings and meetings, to 

23 the extent appropriate; and 


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1 (B) release public versions of the reports 

2 required under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub3 section (j). 

4 (2) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of 

5 the Commission shall be conducted in a manner con6 sistent with the protection of proprietary or sensitive 

7 information provided to or developed for or by the 

8 Commission as required by any applicable law (in9 cluding a regulation or Executive order). 

10 (g) STAFF OF COMMISSION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (A) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson, 

14 in consultation with the Vice Chairperson 

15 and in accordance with rules agreed upon 

16 by the Commission, may, without regard to 

17 the civil service laws (including regula18 tions), appoint and fix the compensation of 

19 a staff director and such other personnel 

20 as are necessary to enable the Commission 

21 to carry out the functions of the Commis22 sion. 

23 (ii) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—No rate 

24 of pay fixed under this subparagraph may 

25 exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 


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1 position at level V of the Executive Sched2 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

3 States Code. 

4 (B) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOY5 EES.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—The staff director 

7 and any personnel of the Commission who 

8 are employees shall be considered to be 

9 employees under section 2105 of title 5, 

10 United States Code, for purposes of chap11 ters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of 

12 that title. 

13 (ii) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.— 

14 Clause (i) shall not apply to members of 

15 the Commission. 

16 (2) DETAILEES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the 

18 Federal Government may be detailed to the 

19 Commission without reimbursement. 

20 (B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of 

21 the employee shall be without interruption or 

22 loss of civil service status or privilege. 

23 (3) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER24 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Com25 mission may procure temporary and intermittent 


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1 services in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 

2 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals that 

3 do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

4 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 

5 Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 

6 (h) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

7 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

8 (A) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A mem9 ber of the Commission who is not an officer or 

10 employee of the Federal Government shall be 

11 compensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva12 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 

13 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

14 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for 

15 each day (including travel time) during which 

16 the member is engaged in the performance of 

17 the duties of the Commission. 

18 (B) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

19 the Commission who is an officer or employee 

20 of the Federal Government shall serve without 

21 compensation in addition to the compensation 

22 received for the services of the member as an 

23 officer or employee of the Federal Government. 

24 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

25 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:53 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S917.IS S917

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1 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author2 ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter 

3 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

4 away from the home or regular place of business of 

5 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

6 Commission. 

7 (i) SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM8 BERS AND STAFF.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 the appropriate Federal agencies or departments 

11 shall cooperate with the Commission in expeditiously 

12 providing to the members and staff of the Commis13 sion appropriate security clearances, to the max14 imum extent practicable, pursuant to existing proce15 dures and requirements. 

16 (2) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—No person 

17 shall be provided with access to proprietary informa18 tion under this section without the appropriate secu19 rity clearances. 

20 (j) REPORTS OF COMMISSION; ADJOURNMENT.— 

21 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may 

22 submit to the President and Congress interim re23 ports containing such findings, conclusions, and rec24 ommendations for corrective measures as have been 


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1 agreed to by a majority of members of the Commis2 sion. 

3 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 Commission shall submit to the President and Con6 gress a final report containing such findings, conclu7 sions, and recommendations for corrective measures 

8 as have been agreed to by a majority of members of 

9 the Commission. 

10 (3) TEMPORARY ADJOURNMENT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and 

12 all the authority provided under this section, 

13 shall adjourn and be suspended, respectively, on 

14 the date that is 60 days after the date on which 

15 the final report is submitted under paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE

18 TERMINATION.—The Commission may use the 

19 60-day period referred to in subparagraph (A) 

20 for the purpose of concluding activities of the 

21 Commission, including— 

22 (i) providing testimony to committees 

23 of Congress concerning reports of the 

24 Commission; and 


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1 (ii) disseminating the final report sub2 mitted under paragraph (2). 

3 (C) RECONVENING OF COMMISSION.—The 

4 Commission shall stand adjourned until such 

5 time as the President or the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security declares an oil spill of na7 tional significance to have occurred, at which 

8 time— 

9 (i) the Commission shall reconvene in 

10 accordance with subsection (c)(3); and 

11 (ii) the authority of the Commission 

12 under this section shall be of full force and 

13 effect. 

14 (k) FUNDING.— 

15 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this section— 

18 (A) $10,000,000 for the first fiscal year in 

19 which the Commission convenes; and 

20 (B) $3,000,000 for each fiscal year there21 after in which the Commission convenes. 

22 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available to 

23 carry out this section shall be available— 


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1 (A) for transfer to the Commission for use 

2 in carrying out the functions and activities of 

3 the Commission under this section; and 

4 (B) until the date on which the Commis5 sion adjourns for the fiscal year under sub6 section (j)(3). 

7 (l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM8 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

9 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

10 SEC. 11. CLASSIFICATION OF OFFSHORE SYSTEMS. 

11 (a) REGULATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 

14 the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

15 Guard is operating shall jointly issue regulations re16 quiring systems (including existing systems) used in 

17 the offshore exploration, development, and produc18 tion of oil and gas in the outer Continental Shelf to 

19 be constructed, maintained, and operated so as to 

20 meet classification, certification, rating, and inspec21 tion standards that are necessary— 

22 (A) to protect the health and safety of af23 filiated workers; and 

24 (B) to prevent environmental degradation. 


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1 (2) THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION.—The stand2 ards established by regulation under paragraph (1) 

3 shall be verified through certification and classifica4 tion by independent third parties that— 

5 (A) have been preapproved by both the 

6 Secretary and the Secretary of the Department 

7 in which the Coast Guard is operating; and 

8 (B) have no financial conflict of interest in 

9 conducting the duties of the third parties. 

10 (3) MINIMUM SYSTEMS COVERED.—At a min11 imum, the regulations issued under paragraph (1) 

12 shall require the certification and classification by 

13 an independent third party who meets the require14 ments of paragraph (2) of— 

15 (A) mobile offshore drilling units; 

16 (B) fixed and floating drilling or produc17 tion facilities; 

18 (C) drilling systems, including risers and 

19 blowout preventers; and 

20 (D) any other equipment dedicated to the 

21 safety systems relating to offshore extraction 

22 and production of oil and gas. 

23 (4) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary and the Sec24 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 

25 is operating may waive the standards established by 


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1 regulation under paragraph (1) for an existing sys2 tem only if— 

3 (A) the system is of an age or type where 

4 meeting such requirements is impractical; and 

5 (B) the system poses an acceptably low 

6 level of risk to the environment and to human 

7 safety. 

8 (b) AUTHORITY OF COAST GUARD.—Nothing in this 

9 section preempts or interferes with the authority of the 

10 Coast Guard. 

11 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

12 (a) EXISTING LAW.—All regulations, rules, stand13 ards, determinations, contracts and agreements, memo14 randa of understanding, certifications, authorizations, ap15 pointments, delegations, results and findings of investiga16 tions, or any other actions issued, made, or taken by, or 

17 pursuant to or under, the authority of any law (including 

18 regulations) that resulted in the assignment of functions 

19 or activities to the Secretary, the Director of the Minerals 

20 Management Service (including by delegation from the 

21 Secretary), or the Department (as related to the imple22 mentation of the purposes referenced in this Act) that 

23 were in effect on the date of enactment of this Act shall 

24 continue in full force and effect after the date of enact25 ment of this Act unless previously scheduled to expire or 


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1 until otherwise modified or rescinded by this Act or any 

2 other Act. 

3 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.—This Act 

4 does not amend or alter the provisions of other applicable 

5 laws, unless otherwise noted. 

6 SEC. 13. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

7 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

8 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

9 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

10 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

11 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

12 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro13 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

14 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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